Paintball canister

ABSTRACT

A paintball canister apparatus includes a cylindrical canister body and a lid pivotally attached to the open end of the canister body. A lip extends downward from a major portion of an outer periphery of the lid, the lip extending along an outer surface of the canister body when the lid is closed. The lip and canister body are configured such that the lip engages the canister body to maintain the lid in the closed position. The canister body is made from a resilient material such that the lid may be opened by sliding a player&#39;s digit upward along the outer surface of the canister body into contact with the bottom edge of the lip and exerting a squeezing force on the canister body and an upward force on the lip to disengage the ridge from the groove and move the lid toward an open position.

This invention relates to devices used in the sport of paintball, and in particular canisters for carrying paintballs and for loading paintballs into paintball guns.

BACKGROUND

The sport of paintball has become increasingly popular since its inception in the early 1980's. Adapting paint marker guns previously used for marking trees and livestock, players have developed a series of informal and formal games in which opposing individuals or teams seeks to score points either through hitting a competitor with a “shot” or by hitting targets. Players may also act out military-style fantasy games in a safe manner through the sport of paintball. Because of the fast-paced excitement of the game, the sport of paintball has become popular worldwide, with millions of participants, organized events, and even professional leagues. As with many other sports, with improvements to paintball guns, gun loading systems and protective equipment, advances in technology have enhanced both the enjoyment and safety of the sport of paintball.

Paintball guns are described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,609 to Tippman and U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,282 to Dobbins et al. Typically, paintball guns include a loading system comprising a paintball reservoir on the top of the gun into which paintballs are poured, and which operates as ammunition storage. Individual rounds are fed from the paintball reservoir into the firing chamber of the gun either by gravity feed or by a motorized feeder. Motorized feeders are especially popular with advanced players as the number of rounds that can be fed per minute is greatly increased over gravity-fed loader systems, allowing the player to take more shots in a given period of time. Thus, the ability to reload and fire a paintball gun rapidly is a highly desirable feature of equipment for use in the sport.

In preparation for a game, players will fill the paintball reservoir on the gun with paintballs. Advanced players, and especially those in competitions will also carry additional paintballs, typically in portable plastic canisters or tubes, adapted to fit onto a canister belt worn by the player. Once the player uses up the paintballs in the paintball reservoir, they will add additional paintballs by opening a portable canister and then pouring the contents into the paintball reservoir.

For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,497 to Rice et al. discloses a paintball container designed to reduce the risk of the lid catching on an object and opening unintentionally during handling. As in most conventional paintball canisters, a lip extends upward from the inside wall of the canister body, and a ring extends outward from the lip but still inside the outer surface of the upper portion of the canister body where the lid meets the body. The lid includes a circumferential groove that engages the ring with a snap fit made possible by the resilient nature of the plastic lid and canister body. The outer periphery of the lid is flush with the outer periphery of the adjacent canister body except where a tab or similar release means projects from the lid opposite the hinge holding the lid to the canister.

The disclosed container includes a guard incorporated therein to direct objects over the tab. Other release means in addition to the tab are also discussed. Typically during a game the canister will be held and opened with one hand. The paintball canisters of the prior art, and particularly that of Rice et al., disclose a lid that is flush with the adjacent canister body except where the tab projects from the lid. The prior art thus requires that the canister be rotated in the hand to align a digit on the hand, typically the thumb, with the tab so that opening force may be exerted on the tab, since the flush lid offers no other location where the player can exert opening pressure on the lid relative to the canister body. This can be awkward, and also somewhat increases the handling time required to reload the paintball reservoir on the gun.

To provide room for the lip extending upward from the inside wall of the canister body, and ring extends outward from the lip but still inside the outer surface of the upper portion of the canister body, the canister bodies of the typical prior art have a significantly increased wall thickness adjacent to the open end, and so are substantially rigid at the open ends thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention is to provide a paintball canister that overcomes problems in the prior art.

The present invention provides in one embodiment, a paintball canister apparatus comprising a substantially cylindrical canister body having a lower closed end and an upper open end, and a lid pivotally attached to the open end of the canister body. A lip extends downward from a major portion of an outer periphery of the lid, the lip extending along an outer surface of the canister body when the lid is in a closed position covering the open end of the canister body. The lip and canister body are configured such that the lip engages the canister body to maintain the lid in the closed position. At least the canister body is made from a resilient material such that the lid may be opened by sliding a player's digit upward along the outer surface of the canister body into contact with the bottom edge of the lip and exerting a squeezing force on the canister body and an upward force on the lip to disengage the ridge from the groove and move the lid toward an open position.

In a second embodiment the invention provides a paintball canister apparatus comprising a substantially cylindrical canister body having a lower closed end and an upper open end. A body hinge element is attached to the canister body adjacent to the open end thereof. A ridge extends from at least a portion of the canister body adjacent the open end thereof between the body hinge element and a side of the canister body opposite the body hinge element. A lid comprises a lid hinge element pivotally attached to the body hinge element, and a lip extending downward from an outer periphery of the lid, the lip extending along an outer surface of the canister body over the ridge when the lid is in a closed position. A groove is defined by the lip and is operative to engage the ridge to maintain the lid in the closed position. At least the canister body is made from a resilient material such that the lid may be opened by sliding a player's digit upward along the outer surface of the canister body into contact with the bottom edge of the lip and exerting a squeezing force on the canister body and an upward force on the lip to disengage the ridge from the groove and move the lid toward an open position.

The canister apparatus of the invention provides a canister with a lid that can be opened by sliding a player's thumb or finger upwards along the outer surface of the canister body at a wide range from one side of the lip to the other, rather than requiring that the thumb be moved along the lid to a release means at a defined location, as in the prior art. Since the force required to open the lid is that force required to disengage the ridge from the groove, substantially the same opening force is required when the player's digit is located anywhere on the lip. The resiliency of the canister body and lid can be varied, as can the configuration of the ridge and groove, or other engagement mechanism that might be used, to attain a satisfactory opening force requirement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:

FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment of a paintball canister apparatus of the present invention showing the lid in the open position;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in the open position;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in the closed position;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1-3 schematically illustrate a paintball canister apparatus 1 of the invention comprising a substantially cylindrical canister body 3 having a lower closed end and an upper open end. A body hinge element 5 is attached to the canister body 3 adjacent to the open end thereof. The body hinge element 5 is reinforced by extending same in each direction along the outside of the canister body 3 as illustrated. A ridge 7 extends from opposite of the canister body 3 adjacent the open end between each side of the body hinge element 5 and the side of the canister body 3 opposite the body hinge element 5.

A lid 9 comprises a lid hinge element 11 pivotally attached to the body hinge element 5; and a lip 13, as best seen in FIG. 4, extending downward from a major portion of an outer periphery of the lid 9. In the illustrated embodiment the lip 13 extends down from the lid periphery from point A to point B, or about 300 degrees. This lip 13 thus provides a wide range of opening locations for a player's thumb or finger as discussed below.

The lip 13 extends along an outer surface 15 of the canister body 3 over the ridge 7 when the lid 9 is in the closed position illustrated in FIG. 3. A groove 17 is defined by the lip 13 and is operative to engage the ridge 7 to maintain the lid 9 in the closed position, as illustrated in FIG. 4. The lip 13 defines a gap 21 in the lower portion thereof oriented such that the body hinge element 5 is located in the gap 21 when the lid 9 in the closed position.

The lid 9 and the canister body 3 are made from a resilient material, typically plastic as in prior art paintball canisters. The resiliency allows the lid 9 to be opened by sliding a player's digit upward along the outer surface 15 of the canister body into contact with the bottom edge 19 of the lip and exerting a squeezing force on the canister body 3 and an upward force on the lip 13 to disengage the ridge 7 from the groove 17 and move the lid 9 toward the open position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. A bias element 20 is operative to exert a bias force on the lid 9 toward the open position.

To reduce the risk of catching the lip 13 on an object and accidentally forcing the lid 9 open, the bottom edge 19 of the lip 13 is curved or sloped from the inner wall thereof, located adjacent to the outer surface 15 of the canister body 3 when the lid 9 is in the closed position, upward and outward to the outer wall thereof. The risk of accidental opening is also reduced because the canister body 3 is resilient and when opened intentionally, the player will naturally squeeze the canister body 3 while exerting an upward force on the lip 13. Squeezing the canister body 3 deforms same, such that the ridge 7 will disengage from the groove 17 with a reduced upward force compared to the force required to open the lid 9 with no squeezing force.

Catching the lip 13 on an object will typically exert only the upward force on the lip 13, with little or no simultaneous squeezing force on the canister body 3. Thus, contrary to the prior art, the lid 9 can extend beyond the outer surface of the canister body 3 without unduly risking unintentional opening and a resultant loss of valuable ammunition.

The body hinge element 15 is similarly sloped to avoid catching on objects and interfering with smooth handling of the canister apparatus 1. A tab 23 extends upward from the lid hinge element 11 and is adapted to be engaged by a cord to secure the apparatus in a canister belt.

The canister apparatus 1 of the invention provides a canister with a lid that can be opened by sliding a player's thumb or finger upwards along the outer surface of the canister body at a wide range from one side of the lip 13 to the other, rather than requiring that the thumb be moved along the lid to a release means at a defined location, as in the prior art. Since the force required to open the lid 9 is that force required to disengage the ridge 7 from the groove 17, substantially the same opening force is required when the player's digit is located anywhere on the lip 13 between point A and point B. The resiliency of the canister body 3 and lid 9 can be varied, as can the configuration of the ridge 7 and groove 17 to attain a satisfactory opening force requirement.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention. 

1. A paintball canister apparatus comprising: a substantially cylindrical canister body having a lower closed end and an upper open end; a lid pivotally attached to the open end of the canister body; a lip extending downward from a major portion of an outer periphery of the lid, the lip extending along an outer surface of the canister body when the lid is in a closed position covering the open end of the canister body; wherein the lip and canister body are configured such that the lip engages the canister body to maintain the lid in the closed position; wherein at least the canister body is made from a resilient material such that the lid may be opened by sliding a player's digit upward along the outer surface of the canister body into contact with the bottom edge of the lip and exerting a squeezing force on the canister body and an upward force on the lip to disengage the ridge from the groove and move the lid toward an open position.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a ridge extending from at least a portion of the canister body adjacent the open end thereof, and a groove defined by the lip and operative to engage the ridge to maintain the lid in the closed position.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a bottom edge of the lip is curved from an inner wall thereof, located adjacent to the canister body when the lid is in the closed position, upward and outward to an outer wall thereof.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the ridge extends from portions of the canister body adjacent the open end between each side of a hinge attaching the lid to the canister body and the side of the canister body opposite the hinge.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lip defines a gap in a lower portion thereof oriented such that the hinge is located in the gap when the lid in the closed position.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the hinge is sloped from a lower edge thereof adjacent to the canister body upward and outward to an outer edge thereof.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a tab extending upward from the hinge and adapted to be engaged by a cord to secure the apparatus in a canister belt.
 8. A paintball canister apparatus comprising: a substantially cylindrical canister body having a lower closed end and an upper open end; a body hinge element attached to the canister body adjacent to the open end thereof; a ridge extending from at least a portion of the canister body adjacent the open end thereof between the body hinge element and a side of the canister body opposite the body hinge element; a lid comprising a lid hinge element pivotally attached to the body hinge element; and a lip extending downward from an outer periphery of the lid, the lip extending along an outer surface of the canister body over the ridge when the lid is in a closed position; and a groove defined by the lip and operative to engage the ridge to maintain the lid in the closed position; wherein at least the canister body is made from a resilient material such that the lid may be opened by sliding a player's digit upward along the outer surface of the canister body into contact with the bottom edge of the lip and exerting a squeezing force on the canister body and an upward force on the lip to disengage the ridge from the groove and move the lid toward an open position.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein a bottom edge of the lip is curved from an inner wall thereof, located adjacent to the canister body when the lid is in the closed position, upward and outward to an outer wall thereof.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the ridge extends from at least opposite portions of the canister body adjacent the open end between each side of the body hinge element and the side of the canister body opposite the body hinge element.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lip defines a gap in a lower portion thereof oriented such that the body hinge element is located in the gap when the lid in the closed position.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the body hinge element is sloped from a lower edge thereof adjacent to the canister body upward and outward to an outer edge thereof.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a tab extending upward from one of the body hinge element and the lid hinge element and adapted to be engaged by a cord to secure the apparatus in a canister belt.
 14. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a bias element operative to exert a bias force on the lid toward an open position. 